Portable loading machinery



C. G. PFEIFFER PORTABLE LOADING MACHINERY June 12, 1928. 1,673,777

Filed May l5, 1926 4 Sheets-Sheet l W I TNESSES 1 NV EN TOR:

- @w b By? @www ffl TTORNEYS.

June l2, 1928. 1,673,777

C. G. PFEIFFER PORTABLE LOADING MACHINERY Filed May 15, 1926 4 sheets-sheet 2 l ll \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\w B )W ra/,JS

ATTORNEYS.

June. 12 1192`s.

c. G. PFElr-FERp PORTABLE LOADING MACHINERY Filed May l5, 1926 June 12, 192s. 1,673,777

C. G. PFEIFFER PORTABLE LOADING MACHINERY 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed May l5, 1926 ffl-Q M [Afl/lll INVENTOR: mdf/Sd ey/622;

ATTORNEYS.

Patented June 12, 1928.

UNITED SfiAIieis CHARLESl G. rEEIEE-En, E PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, AssI/G'Non cro SPECIALTY( ENGINEERINGv COMPANY, or rIIILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION 0F PENNSYLVANIA.

Application led May 15,

materialsuch as coal, gravel or sand from a ground pile and elevating the same to a suitable height to enable gravity discharge into wagons,bins or other receptacles. More l cated bythe arrows VV in Fig. IV.

specifically, my invention isconcerned` with loading machinery in which the standard type of gasoline tractor is used both for v the purpose of portage and also to drive the conveyors by which elevation is eifected.

The main object of my invention is to enable use of the power unit of the tractor to progress the machine very slowly for the purpose of urging the receiving end of the elevating conveyor into the material and toy thereby render said conveyor vself-f`eeding- But the ratio of the standard gearing equipment in the transmission mechanism yof standard tractors is entirely 'too for the purpose referred to. This Adrawback I overcome, as hereinafter fully disclosed, by provision of low-geared auxiliary drive means adapted to 'receive motion from the power take-off shaft of the tractor,

and to transmit such motion attlie proper reduced speed rate, directly to the propeller shaft of said tractor.` f

My invention is also concerned with provision of control means enabling progression of the machine to be governed independently of the actuation of thev elevating conveyor and ivice versa, as well as to means enabling the auxiliary drive means to be disconnected entirely so that the tractor may be operated throughr the standard transmission associated y with its motor when the machine is to be moved about from place to place.

' A further object of my invention is tol 40 ysecure the foregoing advantages in an auxiliary drive organization having the form of an attaehmentcapable of being economicallyk manufactured and easily adapted to standard tractors without entailing any changes whatever in them, either with regard to their construction ornormal mode of operation.

In the drawings Fig. I is a side elevation of a tractor-impelled loadingmachine conveniently embodying my invention.

Fig. II is a perspective view of the rear end of the tractor with one of the bull wheels removed to enable showing of certain details of -the auxiliary drivey means to better advantage. 1

high y PORTABLE LOADING MACHINERY.

1926. seriai No. -io9,227.

Fig. III is a view' partly in yplan and ,partly in section,of thel forward portion-of the auxiliary drive means. i y

Fig. yIV is a sectional view taken asindicated by the arrows IV--IV in Fig. III.

Fig. V is a sectional view taken as indi- F VI is an elevation of the casing enclosing the speed reduction gearing embodied in the auxiliary drive mechanism, by

l which power is directly transmitted to the propeller shaft of the tractor.

Fig. VII is a staggered sectional view taken along the dot-an-dash `line `VII--VII in Fig. VI, and as viewed in the direction ofthe arrows thereon. n

Fig. VIII is a cross section taken as indicated by the arrows VIII- VIII in Fig. VI; and

Fig. IX is a detail view showing the manner in which I secure one of the gears of the speed reducing train to therear end of the propeller shaft of the tractor.

ool

With reference first more `particularly to i to Fig. I of these illustrations,-the ltractor is comprehensively kdesignated by the numeral 15; and the same will be-observed as of a Well known standard construction comprising an internal combustion motor v16 which is supported by fore and aft wheels 17-18, whereof the former are steerable by a hand wheel 19, while the latter function as the driving or traction' wheels. Supported by suitable uprights 20-21 attached at the front and back ends of the tractor 15, is a superstructure 22 which houses, in its downwardly inclined rear yportion 22a, an elevating bucket conveyor 23, and in its overhanging horizontal frontal portion 24, y a transfer belt 25 whereby the elevated mav terial is carried laterally fromthe elevatin vconveyor `23 for discharge forward beyond the confines of the tractor 15. The endless yside chains betweenwhich the buckets of vancing the same toward the conveyor 23, the lower shaft 27 of the elevating conveyor 23 is equipped at opposite ends with opposing feed screws -which are inten. rupted at various points by offset shoulders Slt-after the manner shown and described in my application No. 80,188 filed Januar),7 9, 1926, addressed specifically to this feature.

The brief outline thus far given of the loading machine proper will serveto facilitate an understanding of the auxiliary drive mechanisme-f my invention and the purposefor which it is especially intended. In the complete assembly in Fig. I, this auxiliary drive mechanism is generallyl designated by the numeral 35, and, as shown to best advantage in Fig. II, involves use of a housing 36 which is bolted into place over the opening'? through which access 'is had to the power take-off shaft 3S of the tractor, see Figs. III, vIV and V. Within.

the housing 36 is journalled a short supplemental shaft B9 capable of'being coupled with the power takeoff shaft 38 of the tractor by a sliding clutch-sleeve 40 adapted to be controlled by a foot` lever 4i. rfhe supplemental shaft 39 extends to the exterior of the housing 36 to take the drive sprocket pinion 42 for the chain 30, see Fig. I; while a worm 43 integrally formed on said shaft (Figs. III, IV and V) imparts motion to an inter-meshing gear 44 on a line shaft 45 which has bearing at one end in the housing 36and extends-lean wardlv along one side of the tractor 15' .f tn

into a reverse gea'r casing 46 appended to `the differential housing 47 at the back of said tractor, see Fig. Il. -As shown, in Figs. VI and VILthe casing 46 encloses a train of speed reduction gears 46, 49, 50, 5l, 52 and 53 whereof the pinion 4S fast on the line shaft 45 and the gear 58 fast on the rear epd of the propeller shaft 54 of the tractor l5. To attach the gear 53 to the propeller shaft 54 and secure the reverse gear casing 46, I preferably proceed as follows: the usual cap plate protecting `the roller bearing 55-'-in which the rear end ofthe propeller shaft 54 is 'journalled--- 1s first removed, and the gear 53 made fast by splines or keys after being screwed into position on the threaded portion 56 ofsaid shaft. Obviously, the hub bore of the gear previously tapped in conformity with the threaded portion56. The hub of the gear 53 isextended at 57 to allow room for the bossv56` of the reverse gear casing 46 which is bolted on in place of the discarded cap plate, use being made ofthe tsame securing screws :3Q-and socket holes that originally served said cap plate, see

Fig. VII. The described arrangement, it will be seen provides an auxiliary drive (in the present instance reverse) for the tractor '15,' the gears 48-53 of which. are yso proportioned that the movement imparted to the machine is at a speed greatly reduced as compared to that obtained through use of the ordinarygear transmission ofsaid tractor, and enables the feed means 34 at the lower end of the elevatingconveyor 23- -(Fig. VI) upon a stub-shaft '60 that is' eccentrically journaled in the gear casing 46 and rotatable, by means of an attached hand lever 6l at the exterior, to Withdraw the pinion 52 aforesaid from meshingengagement with the normally cooperating gear rIhe eccentricity and the allocation of the stub-shaft 60 is,l however, such that meshing engagement between the Gear 5I and the pinion 50 not distuiibed. Thus, when the lever 6l is swung to the dot-and-dash line position inV Fig. VI, the auxiliary drive is rendered idle by disconnection of the ypinion 52 from mesh with the gear` 53, thereby enabling the tractor to be moved about from placey to place by use "of its customary transmission gearing.`

asA

that is controlled by a han d lever 63' pivoted toa bracket 64 extending `rearwardly from the housing 36,' previously referred to. The clutch 62 is of the friction type andv comprises reversely coned parts 65, 66 which are respectively secured to contiguous sections 45-, 45b of the line shaft 45, as best shown in Fig. IV. `By the provisions just described, it will be apparent that the aux iliary gearing v48--53 may be rendered idle IOS notwithstanding continued operation of the chain 30 through whichthe elevating bucket conveyor 23 and the transfer belt 25 are driven. f. v y

Assembling of the auxiliary drive is facilitated through use of a connecting coupling, sleeve such as shown at 67 in Fig.

III, between the section 45b of the line shaft 45 and that portion 45C' thereof which extends into the gear casing 46. l'Byfvirtue of being pivotally connected at right angles to respective ends Yof the shaft sections 45h, 45C as shown, the coupling 67 acts after the manner of a universal joint with capacity to allow for slight disalignment between said shaft sections. Y

The operation of my invention is as follows: When the vmachine is to be moved from place to place', the clutch lever -41 is thrown to olf position thereby ydisconneeti'ug the supplemental shaft extension 39 from the power take-off shaft 3S, of thetractor l5 thus rendering the elevating conveyor 23,as well as to the auxiliary gearing AIS- 53, idle. The handle 6l at the back` of the casing 46 also is thrown to off position at this time so as tov disconnect the auxiliary drive gear 52 from the propeller shaft of the tractor l5.

, On the other hand, to prepare the machine for loading, the clutch lever 41 is first thrown to the on positiony for coupling of the supplemental shaft '39 with the power takeoff shaft 38 of the tractor l5 and thereby setting the elevating conveyor 23 and the transfer belt 25 into motion. The reduction gearingfS- of the auxiliary drive means is thereupon made ready for action by I movement of the lever 6l to the full line position of F ig. VI. Then, through shift ing of the clutch 62 by means of lever 63, the machine may be backed into the ground pile as required to enable the buckets of the elevating conveyor 23 to take up the material. By slipping the clutch 62, the rearward progress of the machine may obviously be interrupted whenever necessary to prevent choking of the conveyor 23 and possible stalling of the power unit of the tractor l5.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

l. In a loading machine embodying a tractor for portage, means comprising a worm drive clutchable to the tractor power take-off shaft, a reverse drive or train of reduction gears associated with the tail-end ofthe tractor propeller shaft, a line shaft co-ordinating said worm and reverse drives, and means whereby the respective drives may bey disconnected when progression of the loading machine is to be effected by the tractor transmission.

2. In al loading machine embodying a tractor for portage, a supplemental shaft and worm drive clutchable to the tractor power take-off shaft, a reverse drive or train of reduction gears one of which Ais threaded on and splined to the tail-end of the tractor propeller shaft, a line shaft co-ordinating,

stub-shaft having means for partially turn.

ing the same to withdraw said pinion from meshing engagement, a line shaft co-ordmating said worm and reverse drives, and means whereby the respective drives may be independently disconnected for the specied.

4. Ina loading machine embodying a tractor for portage, a supplemental shaft and worm drive clutchable to the tractor power takeoff shaft, a reverse drive or train of reduction gears one of which is threaded on and splined to the tail-end of the tractor propeller shaft, a pinion in the train of gears mounted upon an eccentrically journaled stub-shaft having means for partially turning the same to withdraw said pinion from meshingengagement, a line shaft eoordinating said worm and reverse drives a universal coupler intermediate the ends of said line shaft, and means whereby the respective drives may be disconnected, for the purposes specified. v

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, this 7 th day of May, 1926.

purposes CHARLES G. PFEIFFER. l 

